What's Cookin' Doc?
What's Cookin' Doc? is a 1944 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Bob Clampett and starring Bugs Bunny. The story is credited to Michael Sasanoff and the animation is credited to Robert McKimson, although Rod Scribner animated on this cartoon as well. The title is a variant on Bugs' catch-phrase "What's up Doc?". It also hints at one of the scenes in the picture. Synopsis The story centers on the Academy Awards presentation. The action begins with actual color film footage of various Hollywood scenes (edited from A Star Is Born), narrated by Robert C. Bruce. It leads up to the Big Question of the evening: Who will win "the" Oscar? The film shows the stereotypical red carpet arrivals of stars, as well as a human emcee starting to introduce the Oscar show. At that point the film switches to animation, with the shadow of a now-animated emcee (and now voiced by Mel Blanc) continuing to introduce the Oscar, and Bugs (also Mel Blanc's voice, as usual) assuring the viewer that "it's in da bag; I'm a cinch to win". Bugs is stunned when the award goes instead to James Cagney (who had actually won in the previous year's ceremony, for Warner's Yankee Doodle Dandy). Shock turns to anger as Bugs declares the results to be "sa-bo-TAH-gee" ("sabotage") and demands a recount. Bugs then tries to make his case by showing clips from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (which includes clip of Hiawatha attempting to "cook" the rabbit) as proof of his allegedly superior acting (an inside joke, as the cartoon had actually been nominated for an Oscar and lost). He hurls a set of film cans off-screen and tells someone named "Smokey" to "roll 'em!" Bugs tells the audience that these are some of his "best scenes". Immediately a "stag reel" (the title card depicts a grinning stag) starts to roll, and the startled Bugs quickly stops it and switches to the right film. Finally, he pleads with the audience, "What do you say, folks? Do I get it? Or do I get it?" (echoing Fredric March's drunken appeal to the Academy Award banquet audience in A Star Is Born). The emcee asks the audience (in an effected nasal voice), "Shall we give it to him, folks?" and they yell, "Yeh, let's give it to him!" whereupon they shower Bugs with fruits and vegetables (enabling him to briefly do a Carmen Miranda impression)... and an ersatz Oscar labeled "booby prize", which is actually a gold-plated rabbit statue. Bugs is so pleased at winning it, he remarks, "I'll even take youse to bed wit' me every night!" The statue suddenly comes alive, asks in a voice like that of radio character, Bert "The Mad Russian" Gordon, "Do you mean it?", smooches the startled bunny, and takes on an effeminate, hip-swiveling pose. Celebrities * Buster Keaton * Charlie Chaplin * Ernst Lubitsch * Harold Lloyd * Laurel and Hardy * The Three Stooges Analysis The cartoon's plot reflects on Warner Bros. Cartoons about their lack of success at the Academy Awards. The studio had not yet won any Oscars at the time. The clips from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941) allude to this. It was a former nominee for the award and had lost to the Mickey Mouse/Pluto cartoon Lend a Paw (1941) by rival studio Disney. The live-action film footage derive from the film A Star Is Born (1937). Footage depict the footprints of the stars at the Chinese Theatre, and nightlife at the Trocadero and the Coconut Grove. The premise of the film is that Bugs Bunny is competing for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He demonstrates his acting ability by transforming into Jerry Colonna, Bing Crosby, Cecil B. DeMille, Katharine Hepburn, and Edward G. Robinson. As the announcer lists the winner's traits, Bugs transforms to illustrate that they all apply to him: dramatic acting, refined comedy, skill at character roles, and prowess as a screen lover. He demonstrates his character acting by becoming Frankenstein's monster, his comedy acting by making a funny face onto the audience and his romantic acting by changing into Charles Boyer and romancing a carrot. This cartoon somewhat revealed a jealous, stardom-hungry, spotlight-stealing side of Bugs, evident of him protesting about James Cagney winning the Oscar, declaring the results as "SA-BO-TAH-GEE" (sabotage) and demands for a recount in the voting. These traits would then be discarded from Bugs as the series progresses and later transferred over to Daffy Duck by animation director Chuck Jones beginning with the early-1950s. "Smokey", the projectionist whom Bugs calls to roll em' reels of his "best scenes" is a reference to Henry "Smokey" Garner, the cameraman and projectionist for the Leon Schlesinger studio. The first film reel shown on screen is a stag reel. A stag reel a term used to describe pornographic films back in the 1940s, and this term is subtly referenced in the cartoon by the title card depicting a grinning stag. Bugs campaigns for the award by addressing the people in the movie audience. His methods of campaigning include dispensing cigars, drum beating, and glad-handing. He thus earns a booby prize (in the shape of the rabbit himself), a second-class award reminiscent of the miniature Oscars awarded to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The implication is that awards are not won by the most talented and deserving, but those capable of lobbying. Controversy This was one of the 12 Bugs Bunny cartoons deleted from Cartoon Network's 2001 "June Bugs" marathon by order of AOL Time Warner, due to comic stereotyping resulting from the inclusion of the Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt clip. However, this cartoon's stereotypes are light compared to the more controversial animated pieces that never made it to air—such as Friz Freleng's Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips and Tex Avery's All This and Rabbit Stew—and has aired on "The Bugs and Daffy Show", The Looney Tunes Show and on The Bob Clampett Show. Availability Available on the following DVD releases: *Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Academy Awards Animation Collection (dubbed version, bonus feature) *Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 (through Bugs Bunny: Superstar, dubbed version) *Captains of the Clouds (dubbed version, bonus feature) It was also available on the following videos before they went out-of-print: *''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 1'', Side 9: "Hooray for Hollywood" (Laserdisc, MGM/UA) *''The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 9: Hooray for Hollywood'' (VHS, MGM/UA) *''Bugs Bunny Collection's ''The Very Best of Bugs (VHS, MGM/UA) *''Viddy-Oh! For Kids Cartoon Festival's'' ''The Best Of Bugs Bunny and Friends ''(VHS, MGM/UA) Gallery What's Cookin' Doc Lobby Card.PNG|1st Lobby Card 189399_10150123678533926_223597233925_6375111_7473868_n.jpg|2nd lobby card What's_Cookin'_Doc1.JPG External Links What's Cookin' Doc? at SuperCartoons.net Category:Cartoons directed by Bob Clampett Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons Category:Hollywood in Cartoons Category:Shorts Category:1944 Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Bugs Bunny: Superstar Cartoons Category:Cartoons written by Michael Sasanoff Category:Cartoons animated by Robert McKimson Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese Category:Cartoons animated by Manuel Perez Category:Cartoons animated by Gerry Chiniquy Category:Cartoons animated by Gil Turner Category:Cartoons animated by Rod Scribner Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Robert C. Bruce Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Cartoons that reuse footage from earlier cartoons